


To Find One’s Escape

by SterekShipper



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), thiam - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Theo in hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 08:04:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20720897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SterekShipper/pseuds/SterekShipper
Summary: Theo’s time in hell has taken its toll. It’s effects linger. When Theo needs someone, Liam is there to help.





	To Find One’s Escape

Darkness. He was surrounded by the near lightless room, alone in the abandoned morgue. Shivers ran through him at the touch of cold metal, the chill cutting into his bear skin. Hollow footsteps sounded in the hallway, ringing painfully closer with each second.

This basic sign of another persons presence stilled his heartbeat. It should have brought solace, a release from the weary solitude. Instead, it left him shaking in terror. He remained frozen, fixed to the spot, unable to form a coherent thought, barely capable of breathing.

There was but one thought sounding clearly amidst the noise. One determined to make itself known, a constant loop echoing through his mind.

_’Not again.’_

A voice carried softly almost as though made of the air itself. It called to him, beckoning.

“Theo. Theo.”

His chest tightened, a constrictive pressure taking hold. He struggled to breathe, heartbeat soaring. The slow, taunt-ridden sound a noose.

He knew that voice.

It had held him hostage, a captive to the very torture he’d inflicted upon it’s owner.

That alone, left him frantic. He, however, knew all too well what was still to come. For where that voice begun, the person it belonged to was never far behind.

It was a blade. Cutting deep with every slice.

“Theo. Theo.” 

A sharp intake of air, an audible hitch escaped past dry lips. His eyes widened tenfold at the sight of the harrowing figure looming ahead.

The now open doorway, framed the decaying Tara Raeken. She stood motionless at first, no trace of her intention. Hunched over, she raised her head to stare directly at him, a dangerous glint evident. The caved hole carved viciously into her chest did not go unnoticed; the jagged tears and remnants of dried blood sent a wave of nausea crashing through him.

He’d done that. Caused it to happen. Set the string of events leading to her death in motion. Without him, the Dread Doctors never would have caught her.

The sight of Tara ambling forward, left him stumbling. He tripped over his feet in his haste to back away, only stopping when he felt hard stone against his back.

With a sense of dread, reality setting in with a choking force, he could only watch as Tara continued undeterred. Her momentum rose the closer she came to the panicked form that was her brother.

There was no exit.

No path out.

He was trapped, helpless pray to the inevitable.

He wanted to scream, to run. But he knew it was pointless. He’d done it incessantly before to no avail.

He swallowed hard as her eyes locked on his, unwavering; hand extended to brush gently across his chest, tracing attentive lines along the surface.

Head tilted in silent rebuke she went in for the kill. A frigid hand pierced his skin, his heart within its merciless grasp.

She ripped it out, displaying it in full for him to see. Tara watched on, unfaltering as the light faded from his eyes, his silent gasps unanswered. Hecollapsed, sprawled out on the cold floor.

Lifeless.

He lay on the cusp of restarting the whole ordeal; prepared to wake up once more in the body locker, only to be hunted and killed on an eternal loop.

A voice filtered through the suffocating darkness, calling to him even in this moment of release.

“Theo. Theo.”

There was no escape. He was bound to an existence of sufferance for his crimes.

“Theo.”

A hand grasped his shoulder, shaking lightly.

“Theo.”

The grip tightened, firmer shakes emitted stirred a shift inside him. A growing lightness spread, coursing through his motionless veins. The result an overwhelming, disembodiment. It was unnerving to say the least. The only solace he had, the very saving thread of sanity was the emptiness between death and returning to begin again.

The fact he knew he was safe, that he was in the one place no one could get to him, especially Tara, if only for a moment.

Now, she had found him and was there to strip it away. She followed him to continue the torture,thus prolonging his suffering, agonising and endless.

“Theo!”

This time the voice growled, the sound pulsating through every fibre of his being. It was then that he finally resurfaced, awake and aware. Only this time, instead of waking within the narrow metal walls of the body locker, he was in a large room.

Confused, he startled at the feeling of soft fabric lining his touch. Jolting upright, he leapt off the bed, a string of blankets in his wake.

Similar to that of a wounded animal, he took in the change of scenery, his gaze darting across the empty bedroom. Filtered light entered through the thinly laced curtains, the door stood wide open and the sounds of the living, chirping birds and rustling leaves, could be heard.

“Theo-”

His attention shifted, locking on the voice, suddenly aware he wasn’t alone. A growl rumbled deep within, a clear threat emanating. The figure stood ahead, eyes aglow. A flickering gold.

“How are you a werewolf?” There was no lightness in his tone, rather it bordered on murderous.

“Theo, I’ve been a werewolf since we met.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

“What are you-”

“This isn’t fair, Tara. Not here. Not him.”

“Theo, it’s me. It’s Liam.”

“Let me go!”

Before he knew what was happening, a sharp pain radiated through his nose. Blinking, the clouded haze receded. “Liam?” He let the uncertainty show, confusion lingering. Liam stood in front of him, fist raised as if poised for a hit. “Did you-” He felt a thick liquid running down his face, crossing the rise in his lip. A metallic taste filled his mouth, fingers returning red after brushing against his skin. “Did you just break my nose?”

“You weren’t responding. I had to get through to you somehow.” Liam’s expression remained unchanged, features etched into a look of concern.

”What? Breaking my nose four times wasn’t enough? You going to hit me again?”

Hovering over him, he slowly lowered his hand. A thought seemed to be running through Liam’s mind; seemingly debating whether or not to approach him, if his small aborted movements forward were anything to go by.

“Are you alright? You kept calling me Tara.”

At once, everything made sense. Everything came rushing back; the day before, the nightmare, the suffocating fear. In that moment, his mask came up and he brushed Liam’s concern off. “I’m fine.”

“Theo. You were shaking in your sleep. You were screaming. I had to shift in order to wake you up. What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“You really think I believe that?”

“LittleWolf, I’m touched. Who knew you cared so much.” Liam glared at the sight of his patented smirk.

“Don’t be an ass. Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

“Oh, did I hurt your feelings?”

“I don’t know why I even try sometimes. Just when I think I’m getting though to you, you act like this.”

“Then maybe you should stop trying.” He couldn’t help the flash of hurt or the hint of guilt.

“All you have to do is open up!”

“Why?!” He’d had enough. A restless nights’ sleep; hours of constant panic and fear, the images and memories playing on loop every time he closed his eyes. Now, he was awake and he had to deal with Liam’s onslaught of questions. Well, not tonight. “You make it sound easy. Well, did you ever think I might not want to? That maybe I don’t want to talk about it? To relive it all?” Enough was enough. “Stop trying to fix me!”

“Is that what you think? I’m not trying to _fix_ you, Theo! I’m trying to _help_ you!”

“I never asked for your help!”

“I seem to recall differently. In fact, I remember you _begging_ Scott for help, when Tara dragged you to hell!”

He flinched, the comment unexpected. He didn’t think Liam would bring that night up. “Liam-”

“I’m the one who brought you back! I’m the one who swore to Scott and the others you’d changed! You’re my responsibility, Theo! I want to help you! So will you for _once_, just drop the arrogant facade and let me in?”

The room fell silent. It was clear Liam was waiting for a reply, evidently impatient at the fact he hadn’t answered straight away. He dropped his gaze, letting it fall to his feet. He couldn’t bear looking Liam in the eyes. Not with what he was about to say.

“She’s there.” He whispered.

“What?” Liam narrowed his eyes, rightly confused at the response. It seemed to have come out of nowhere.

“She’s there. Tara.” He swallowed hard, around a lump that was taking hold in his throat. “Every time I close my eyes, I see her.”

Liam was shocked to say the least. The fact, he was answering was one thing but this... This was more than he’d ever expected to hear.

“I relive it all. Every night, Tara tears my heart out. She takes it back, over and over. Never letting me go. Never letting me breathe.”

“Theo, I...” Liam stopped, unsure of what to say. What does one say to something that heartbreaking? “I’m sorry. I didn’t think-”

“Didn’t think about what I went through?Why would you? It was just me. Theo. The power hungry murderer. Why would you spare me a second thought?”

“That’s not true.”

“LittleWolf, it’s fine. I understand. I don’t blame you for thinking that. After all, I was. You were only stopping me from doing it again.”

As he turned away, fully prepared to walk out, a hand on his arm stopped him. Liam pulled him back, holding his arms still and forcing him to face him. “Look at me. Look at me, Theo.”

Reluctantly, he did. The earnest look in Liam’s eyes, surprised him. “We may have been right in preventing you from hurting anyone else but we were wrong to send you to hell. You didn’t deserve that. No one does.”

Liam took a breath before continuing, releasing him now he wasn’t trying to leave. “I wasn’t lying when I said you’ve changed. You’ve helped the Pack a lot since you came back. Without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. You’ve saved us all, not to mention the countless times you saved me. The old Theo never would have put himself in danger to protect me from the Ghost Riders. Were it not for you, Stiles may not be here today.”

“Do you really believe that?” His voice cracked at the end. This was more than he’d ever hoped for. Since returning, Liam was a constant in his life. He kept the Pack from sending him back, put his own position and reputation on the line for him and stood by him when no one else had. Although he couldn’t blame Scott and the others for not trusting him, the persistent weariness around him, the way everyone stopped talking as soon as he entered the room... It became tiring fast.

Then Liam took it a step further and went the extra mile, offering him a place to live when he realised he’d been living out of his truck for the past few months. He took him in, trusting him enough to let him in his house, let him near his family.

If all of that hadn’t been enough to make him fall in love with the wolf, then this right now, this reassurance was.

“Of course I do. I wouldn’t have let you in here if I didn’t.”

With that, he collapsed. Sinking to ground, he pressed his head against his knees, arms encircling himself in a tight embrace. He felt a warm presence on his knee, Liam sitting down beside him. It was a moment of comfortable silence, a moment in which nothing was expected of him. He could just sit there, let his carefully built mask fall and fall apart.

“I can’t get away from her. Even now. I’m haunted by the memories of Tara forcing her hand into my chest. Of her fingers wrapping around my heart, her heart. The moment she ripped it out. I still remember the look on her face, the emotionless features staring back at me as I died.”

Liam listened. No questions, no cliche reassurances of being okay now. He merely waited, letting him talk. Allowing him to voice the weight he’d been carrying around since he clawed his way out of hell.

“It didn’t matter how fast I ran, how much I fought. She always found me, caught up with me. Tara always took back her heart. In the end, I stopped trying. I even looked forward to that moment. The moment I died. I welcomed it.”

Liam looked at him, thrown by the revelation.

“It was in that moment, I felt some peace. Albeit brief. I could finally breathe. It was a welcome refuge from the torture before waking up and going through it all over again.”

When he looked up, he heard the slight inhale of air as Liam took in his dishevelled appearance. Tears ran down his cheeks, fear alight in his eyes.

“That’s why I was angry before. I didn’t realise I’d woken up. I thought Tara was pretending to be you, taking the one good thing I have in my life and using it against me.”

He hadn’t let himself be seen this vulnerable in a long time, not since before the dread doctors. With Liam here, leaning against him and recently encompassed within Liam’s arms instead of just his own, he felt safe. It was in times like this, that he realised how much he needed Liam. How much he depended on him.

Liam helped centre him, calming him when the memories and fear threatened to drown him. There was no doubt that Liam was his anchor, he’d known since the start but he only now, came to a sudden realisation about a previously unknown connection between them.

He loved Liam.

“Theo, I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do.”

“Just stay. I don’t want to be alone.”

“Of course.”

For the rest of the night, he and Liam sat there, pressed against each other. He breathed in Liam’s calming scent, relaxing into him. It felt right, being here. All he had to do was be himself, flaws and all.

At some point, he felt Liam’s hand slip into his. The light touch a sign he wasn’t leaving, that he was in this for the long run. When he glanced up, his gaze meeting Liam’s, he let himself smile. For the first time in a long time, he felt carefree. The lingering tension drained away, he felt whole again. No longer the empty shell he was before.

For the first time, he had what he wanted.

He had Liam.

**Author's Note:**

> I have an affinity for a vulnerable Theo and the impact his time in Hell had on him. This idea came to me and I thought I’d share it with y’all.
> 
> Here’s hoping you enjoy it.


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